Caye Caulker

[crisvow]

Anyone go here without a tour? Looking to go here on our own in Feb. b/c we don't like time restrictions. How far is the water taxi from the cruise ship pier & what exactly is Caye Caulker? A little beach town with shops, restaurants & bars??? Does anyone know if you have to pay to use the beach?? Thanks for any feedback!

[I&MsMom]

Hi! We did this off the Glory, our first cruise, last Jan.

 

The marine terminal is within easy walking distance of where the tenders dock. We walked over with DS 5 and DD 2. But DH is 6'4" and has traveled extensively through Central and South America, so our comfort level may be higher than others in situations like that. Some minor harassment for hair braiding, etc., but a firm and polite "no" was respected. Walked by a gentleman dozing on a chair, and was almost upon him before I noticed a snake resting next to him, completely unrestrained. May have been perfectly harmless, but glad I spotted it in time to steer the kids clear! Just keep your eyes open!!

 

A word of caution: it took a lot longer to tender than we had anticipated, and we just missed the earlier water taxi, and had to wait a while for the next one. It's about 45 minutes each way, on a fast boat. Pretty trip. However, due to the fact that we had to take the later trip, we only had time to walk around a bit and have lunch. Never made it to the beach. I was still glad we went and saw it, but would definitely have liked more time there.

 

Going back in Feb., and seriously considering a ship sponsored excursion; this would be the first one in four cruises. I'm normally adament about getting off the beaten path and doing our own thing, but I feel we'd make much better use of our time in Belize if we went the conventional way.

 

Also, beware the difference between Belize time and ship time. You have to work out the taxi schedule as it relates to the last tender back, which is on ship's time.

 

Caye Caulker is a small island, very laid back. We shared the water taxi with locals and backpackers. Not too many fellow cruisers. It's "real", not picture perfect. But we really liked it; it was about as far from the pier in Cozumel as you can get. For some, that's just right, and for others, it's not at all what they're looking for.

 

Hope this helps. Enjoy Belize, whatever you decide to do!

[I&MsMom]

Just want to clarify something. When I said it was real, and not picture perfect, I don't want you to get the impression that it is not a beautiful island. It is, just not in a made-strictly-for-tourists fake kind of way, if you know what I mean. JMHO.

[crisvow]

thanks so much for your feedback!

[I&MsMom]

You're very welcome. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer.

[GarageTwoThree]

actually they have one that leaves caye caulker at 1:30 so that would be on the have hour a well. I think its the quientessential(sp?) Island commmunity which is sort of picture perfect if thats what you want. The Island's visitors are mostly European Scuba divers and what not. If you want to use a friendly golf cart taxi it will run you 3.00USD. Ask him where the nice spots are and I bet he knows. For a prearranged price he may even be able to take you around like your personal guide. Keep in mind the Key is only 5 miles long by 1.5 miles wide..lol. We too missed the first water taxi boat from Belize city which put a time constraint on our Discovery scuba thru Frenchies Dive Shop. Alex the dive instructor, actually was kind enough to drop us off right at the water taxi dock at Caye Caulker which saved us about 10 mins or so.

[cruise pup]

I visited Caye Caulker through Coral Breeze Ltd. After a brief stop at Caye Caulker to drop off the lunch orders to the restaurant, we headed to the coral gardens for snorkeling, then shark/ray alley for more snorkeling. We then were taken back to Caye Caulker where we had lunch and a short time to stroll around the island, but not enough time as far as I'm concerned. The island is best described as what Key West must have been like before it got all commercial. It's a lovely island with sandy lanes. Not much in the way of beaches but there are places to swim. I could definately return to Caye Caulker.

[jsaadat]

Anyone go here without a tour? Looking to go here on our own in Feb. b/c we don't like time restrictions. How far is the water taxi from the cruise ship pier & what exactly is Caye Caulker? A little beach town with shops, restaurants & bars??? Does anyone know if you have to pay to use the beach?? Thanks for any feedback!

 

We had a great time at Caye Caulker 2 weeks ago. thanks to G and the folks on CC boards for letting us know about it. We actually took a chance that our ship would arrive on time and pre booked flights to the island wich was an excersion in itself........... we loved the 10 minute flight there and back.

 

Link to pics I hope

 

http://photobucket.com/albums/d119/jsaadat/2005%20NCL%20Majesty%20Christmas%20Cruise/Caye%20Caulker/

 

J

[GarageTwoThree]

In picture 13 of 14 you can see Frenchies dive shop where we were December 21st. It has the grass hut being built at the end of the pier. Glad you have fun, we are planning to go there for a week when I get OW certified.

[jsaadat]

We just missed you Carlos.......... we were there on Dec. 22nd.

[diverroy]

We have just come back from our cruise. Coral Breeze tours took us over to Caya Caulker and our party of 15 then split into the scuba divers and snorkellers. All had a great time and we had no stress with missing the boat etc. I would certainly recommend this tour. They know what they are doing and were bery organised. Interesting that they took us to Frenchies to collect our scuba equipment. Costs were the same as if we had taken the water taxi over and gone direct to Frenchies. We saved a fortune over the onboard organised tours.

[tracysue]

does anyone know the web address for the coral breeze snorkeling tours?

 

thanks! :)

[filomene]

Just checked out their web site sounds like a very professional outfitter. We had something like it in Grand Cayman and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

 

Thaks for the info I think we have just made up our minds about what to do in Belize.

 

Ciao

Filomene

[filomene]

Just checked out their web site sounds like a very professional outfitter. We had something like it in Grand Cayman and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

 

Thaks for the info I think we have just made up our minds about what to do in Belize.

 

Ciao

Filomene

 

 

So much for that idea they show No Tours for February 18th. Too bad !!

 

Fil

[slappy1974]

The water taxis leave the terminal hour on the half-hour, and leave Caye Caulker on the hour, every hour. E-mail heather@btl.net and they can talk to you in more detail. It is a beautiful island, a few hundred yards from the barrier reef, and some spectacular snorkeling places, including shark/ray alley. Get on the earliest tender possible off your ship, ask directions on shore, and off you go!:rolleyes:

 

Tom,

Would you recommend taking the taxi to the Caye, and then going snorkeling, or join a snorkeling excursion from Belize City.

We want to go to shark/ray alley.

 

Thanks.

[grizzy]

We've done Caye Caulker on our own the last two years.

 

If you click on the two links in my signature you can read reviews that go into detail about how we did it. If anyone has any questions after that just give me a holler.

 

Chris:cool:

[sassyj38]

I visited Caye Caulker through Coral Breeze Ltd. After a brief stop at Caye Caulker to drop off the lunch orders to the restaurant, we headed to the coral gardens for snorkeling, then shark/ray alley for more snorkeling. We then were taken back to Caye Caulker where we had lunch and a short time to stroll around the island, but not enough time as far as I'm concerned. The island is best described as what Key West must have been like before it got all commercial. It's a lovely island with sandy lanes. Not much in the way of beaches but there are places to swim. I could definately return to Caye Caulker.

we are looking at this tour.....what time did you get back from the tour?

[astridwilson]

www.coralbreezetours.com/Belize/Caye/Caulker/cruise/snorkeling/current_category.15/Product.2/tours_add.html?t_product=2

 

www.shoretrips.com/common/search4.asp?tcode=011070

 

two vendors that have snorkeling trips

[travgurl]

We just did the Coral Breeze Snorkel excursion. Without a doubt we had a fantastic time. Our tour guides were fantastic. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. Check out their website for information. We included lunch on our tour. We had a fun boat ride out to the island. It is 21 miles from Belize. After a brief stop at the island, we had an amazing time snorkeling at the top of the barrier reef and sting ray alley. Then we went back to the island where we were served a very good lunch at the Tropical Paradise hotel and restaurant. You can look that up online too. Then we had a little time to explore this quiet, tropical island. It is yor choice whether to snorkel or remain at the island. I would do the snorkeling if possible. I would definitely go again. You can get a tender ticket on the boat sometime around 8:00 a.m. Then you wait for them to call your tender number. Since there is 2 hour difference you have plenty of time to meet up with the excursion. The meeting place is easy to find. We had about 45 minutes left when we got back to shop around the pier area before catching the last tender. The guides are very good with their time schedule. Hope you enjoy this excursion as much as we did. It is day my family will never forget.

[Travel Angel]

Tom,

Would you recommend taking the taxi to the Caye, and then going snorkeling, or join a snorkeling excursion from Belize City.

We want to go to shark/ray alley.

 

Thanks.

I had the opportunity of meeting Major Tom and actually arranged a tour thru him. I too had similiar questions as you regarding the water taxi and after many emails back and forth, I followed his instructions as below and everything went as he said it would.

 

The Caye Caulker water taxi association have boats every hour starting at 8.30 am from Belize City to Caye Caulker and returning again every hour on the hour to Belize City. Guests can log in to the water taxi association at ccwatertaxi@btl.net and get all the details. It is easy to come ashore, walk about 5 minutes to the marine terminal, and buy tickets there right away, which cost US $15 round trip. No one is turned back, as several boats are always available and on call.

 

I have to say that not only did he point me in the right direction regarding water taxi info, but also shared his wealth of knowledge about Belize and its amazing history.

 

To this day I still remain in touch with him and feel like when I travel to Belize in the future, I will have a friend I can rely on if I need assistance on anything regarding Belize, tour options or possible investment opportunities !

 

Listen to his advice... he knows what he is talking about !

[driftwood]

Here's a link to some Caye Caulker information from Lonely Planet online, in case you haven't seen it:

 

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/central-america/belize/caye-caulker

[PH8]

Guests can log in to the water taxi association at ccwatertaxi@btl.net and get all the details. !

Thats an email addy......do you have the website??

[Travel Angel]

Thats an email addy......do you have the website??

Sorry... this should get you there !

 

http://www.cayecaulkerwatertaxi.com/

[PH8]

Thanks...

 

I am trying to decide what to do in belize......it will be our third time........been to Altun Ha........been snorkeling at the reef and went to Ambergris Caye......

 

I would probably just like a nice beach kind of day with food and drink.......

[novellaherman]

I am interested in using coral breezes, my extended family is concerned about the boat ride. It states it is a 45 minute boat ride. Did anyone feel sea sick. What type of boats did they use? thanks!!